1931 Bentley 8-Liter Sports Tourer

This Sports Tourer is one of 35 Eight Litres that was built atop the shorter 12-foot chassis. Bentley built 100 8 Litre models equipped with the 7,982cc SOHC inline six-cylinder engine breathing through twin SU HO8 carburetors and delivering 220 horsepower at 3,500 RPM. This example has 5.5:1 pistons, an experimental Mintex crankshaft damper, friction and hydraulic shock absorbers, a 20-inch diameter steering wheel, and an exhaust cut-out. Its coachwork was courtesy of Vanden Plas with two-doors and seating for four. Two other Eight Litre chassis received similar coachwork - chassis YF5023 and YX5122. A 4 1/2 Litre 'Blower' and 4 Litre also wore similar designs.

Unique features bestowed upon this Sports Tourer were a fold-flat Auster windscreen, special chrome-plated copper moldings, Paxon Air Spring seats, large-diameter AT instruments, a French-made Grebel pillar-swivel spotlight, and a rear truck with road tools and fitted luggage. The exterior was finished in Battleship Grey and Birch, while the interior was trimmed in grey Connolly hides with hood, tonneau, and side curtains in grey mohair. Each of the doors received the Barnato family coat of arms.

This Bentley 8-Litre Sports Tourer was delivered to Woolf Barnato in June of 1931 and subsequently registered as 'GP401.' After his marriage to American Jacqueline Quealy in March of 1932 and in preparation for a honeymoon tour of the U.S., the Eight Litre received a second rear spare and indicator lights in preparation for shipment to California.

The car's second owner was Flight Lieutenant Reginald Clarence Presland who purchased it in May of 1933. In 1936, he entered the Bentley in the RAC's 1000 Miles Rally, and later he drove it over 100 mph at the Festival of Speed at Brooklands.

The Bentley's final Service Record was in May of 1939, and its only update during its first decade of use was the addition of three SU petrol pumps fitted in 1934 and a new front axle bed in 1937.

The Bentley was placed into storage during World War II, and when it emerged many years later, it was given an engine overhaul by Bentley specialist MacKenzie Guppy. Mr. Presland joined the Bentley Drivers Club (BDC) in 1946 and participated in various rallies and shows. In 1947, it was shown at the BDC Concours at Kensington Gardens, where it was awarded Second Overall. The following year, it won First in Class honors.

The car remained in Mr. Presland's family until 2004, when it was sold to Peter Hageman of Kirkland, Washington. Shortly after the acquisition, he drove it in the annual Pebble Beach Motoring Classic before showing it in the Concours d'Elegance's Prewar Preservation Class.

Peter Livanos acquired the Eight Litre in 2005 and commissioned a complete, no-expense-spared restoration performed by R.C. Moss. Upon completion, the car was shown in August 2009 at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance where it was selected as First in Class.

By Daniel Vaughan | Nov 2022

This 8 Litre Bentley was commissioned by Woolf Barnato, the chairman of Bentley Motors and triple Le Mans-winning 'Bentley Boy.' The 2-door Sports Tourer body was built on the shorter 12-foot chassis and all plated items were made of copper at the special request of Barnato. The car boasts a pair of French pillar-swivel spotlights, and inside it retains its original fitted luggage. The car quickly became one of Barnato's favorite Bentleys and, in 1933, he shipped it to California to drive on his honeymoon after marrying Jacqueline Claridge Quealy in San Francisco. IN 1936, the Bentley was invited by Autocar magazine to the Festival of Speed at Brooklands and was filmed going over 100 miles per hour around the famous banking that Barnato knew so well from his many races. After being restored in 2004, the car was last seen at Pebble Beach in 2009, when it appeared on the Concours poster. It returned in 2019 with new owners, who bought the car in 2016.